On Dec. 1 at 12:37 a.m., Officers Tom Collins, Danny Maganinho, Anthony Oliveira and Sgt. Dean Gasser were dispatched to a domestic dispute at a private home. Upon arrival, they located a 33-year-old man seated in a van in front of the house.
The man reported he had picked up his wife’s cousin in Newark and was driving her back to his home in Kearny when he saw his wife following them in her car. The wife allegedly cut the van off, which brought both vehicles to a stop.
She was reported to have then opened the door to the husband’s van, accused him of cheating and then began beating him about the head with her hands. The man sustained a small cut to one of his hands while he was blocking the blows. He also had red marks on his face.
Officers arrested the 31-year-old wife for simple assault. She was later released with a summons.
On Dec. 1 at 5:30 a.m., Officers Collins, Maganinho and Sgt. Gasser were sent to investigate a restraining order violation at a Kearny Avenue home. They found the 20-year-old male subject of the restraining order in the alley adjacent to the victim’s home.
The officers followed the subject into the backyard where he told them he came to the house, despite the restraining order, because it was the victim’s birthday.
Officers arrested the man on a charge of contempt of court. He was then taken to the Hudson County Jail.
On Dec. 1 at 8:18 p.m., Officers Maganinho, Collins, Oliveira and Sgt. Gasser responded to Walmart who reported two shoplifters were on the premises. The store’s loss-prevention team accused Jessica M. Williams, 32, and Marlo A. Mann, 51, both of Jersey City, of under-ringing merchandise at a self-checkout register and then trying to leave the store. The total loss to Walmart from the under-ringing was reported at $680.02.
Both women were charged with shoplifting. Williams also was the subject of an outstanding East Orange traffic warrant carrying $750 bail. East Orange arranged to release Williams with a new court date. Both women were later released from KPD with summonses.
On Dec. 2 at 1:36 a.m., Officer Oliveira investigated a report a Ford pickup truck had crashed into the front of a home on Devon Street. The officer found that, indeed, a truck had crashed into the home. Driver Domenic F. Ricci, 24, of Fairfield, Connecticut, was examined by EMS but refused further treatment.
Officer Oliveira noted evidence Ricci was impaired by drugs. Officer Jose Castillo administered field sobriety tests, which Ricci failed. Officers then arrested Ricci for DWI.
Incident to arrest, the officers found Ricci possessed 10 wax folds — some full and some empty — of heroin stamped “Poland Spring” and “Time to Travel” (apparently this stamp should not be read literally). He also possessed two cut straws commonly used to snort heroin. A drug-recognition expert evaluated Ricci at police headquarters in support of his DWI charge.
Ricci was also charged with possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia, reckless driving, careless driving and driving the wrong way on a one-way street. He was later released with summonses.
Editor’s note: the following is a police update to a recent incident previously reported.
On Dec. 2 at 7:54 a.m., Officers Mat Lopez, Jordan Miranda and Alan Stickno were dispatched to 78 Oakwood Ave. on a report of a 56-year-old woman having a mental health crisis. One of the woman’s tenants reported the woman thought the federal government was spying on her from a work van parked on the street, so she went to a front window and pointed a rifle at the work van.
The woman had also allegedly pointed the rifle at the tenant. The tenant speculated the rifle might be a BB gun. While being interviewed by detectives, the tenant became uncooperative and then left the scene. But a second tenant told officers earlier in the day the woman picked up a metal stove burner grate and threatened to smash her head in with it, so she fled the residence.
The man who was in the work van told officers he saw the woman point the rifle at his van from a front window of her home.
Officers made contact with the woman, but she slammed and locked the door telling the officers she would not talk or come outside. With additional back-up arriving, the officers formed a perimeter around the home and then evacuated two other tenants from the house.
The Hudson County Regional SWAT Team was dispatched to the scene. After numerous unanswered bullhorn pleas to surrender were given by crisis negotiators, at 11:26 a.m., SWAT officers entered the home and confronted the woman. However, she retreated and barricaded herself in a bedroom. At 12:30 p.m., the woman surrendered to officers. She was transported by EMS to Jersey City Medical Center for a psychiatric evaluation.
Between 3:18 p.m. and 5:20 p.m., detectives executed a search warrant at the residence. The search turned up a black BB rifle, a black pistol grip for a firearm, a lighter fashioned as a replica silver revolver, a black stove burner grate on a stairway, and three burnt glass pipes commonly used to smoke narcotics.
Detectives charged the woman with one count of possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose; two counts of aggravated assault by pointing of a firearm; and one count of obstructing the administration of law. She was also found to be a wanted person by Hudson County Superior Court.
On Dec. 3 at 9:55 p.m., Det. Jordenson Jean was working a security detail at ShopRite and his attention was drawn to Silvija Morrison, 41, of Newark, when he saw her conceal three large Dove soap bottles and two large bags of seafood under a black garbage bag in a shopping cart. Det. Jean watched Morrison go to a cash register and only buy a reusable shopping bag, but then leave the store pushing a cart full of merchandise.
Det. Jean followed the woman who walked quickly to Marshall Street and met a man who helped her transfer the merchandise to a duffel bag. Det. Jean called out to the pair and when Morrison turned to face him, he saw she had a crack pipe between her lips. Det. Jean then confirmed all the merchandise, later totaled at a value of $267.46, was stolen from ShopRite. He arrested Morrison.
The man, later identified as Cristian Vasile, 45, of Kearny, initially falsely identified himself as his deceased brother Gheorghe Vasile. After he left the scene, the detective discovered his ruse. Both Vasile and Morrison were wanted by Hudson County Superior Court on a prior Kearny burglary arrest warrant. Additionally, Morrison was wanted by Hudson County for failure to appear for a drug charge, and by Newark for a traffic warrant carrying $500 bail.
Morrison was charged locally with shoplifting and possession of drug paraphernalia. A new warrant was issued for Vasile charging him with hindering apprehension, for giving a false name. Morrison was held at the Hudson County jail.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.